Published: January 29, 2012

Florida’s Diverse Electorate and Economic Climate

Note: Rudolph W. Giuliani came in third with 15 percent of the total vote but did not win any counties.

Mike Huckabee 14%

Who won the

2008 primary

100,000

50,000

10,000

Registered

Hispanic

Republicans

12%

10

8

Unemployment

rate by county

*Adjusted for inflation

N.H.

IOWA

U.S.

S.C.

FLA.

N.H.

IOWA

U.S.

S.C.

FLA.

4

4

Tampa

Orlando

Daytona

Beach

Miami

Jacksonville

Tallahassee

Florida’s jobless rate remains above the national average, especially in the middle of the state. In a recent poll, nearly half of likely Republican voters in Florida said Mr. Romney would do the best job handling the economy.

4

Tampa

Orlando

Daytona

Beach

Miami

Jacksonville

Tallahassee

Tampa

Orlando

Daytona

Beach

Miami

Jacksonville

Tallahassee

Home prices in Florida peaked in 2005 but have fallen drastically since then, with a drop that was sharper than that of the other early primary states and the nation as a whole.

Though the unemployment rate in Florida is creeping back down after peaking in late 2010, at 9.9 percent, it is still higher than in the other states that have held their Republican primaries.

Mitt Romney has a lead over Newt Gingrich in polls. But in 2008, he lost to John McCain, who won about half of the Hispanic vote. Mr. Romney, who took the hardest line on illegal immigration, finished third among Hispanic voters.

Mr. Romney and Mr. Gingrich have each run ads in Spanish targeting Hispanic voters, who make up one-tenth of all registered Republicans in the state. More than half of them are in Miami-Dade, and many are also near the Interstate 4 corridor.